Skyline
by remaerd x
Summary: Over the course of the four seasons, Tai begins to realize that, sometimes, being at the wrong place at the wrong time doesn't always have to be a bad thing. (Taiora, in progress)
1. Fall, Part I

**SKYLINE**

– Fall –

Part I

 _Handmade for somebody like me._

Tai furrowed his eyebrows, growing increasingly frustrated as his tie seemingly refused to cooperate with his hands. He tugged it forward, accidentally choking himself in the process. He coughed as he gasped for air, and suddenly he felt cold fingers trace the back of his neck. Clearing his throat, he turned around and was greeted with a peck on his lips before he could say a word.

"Tai can't tie a tie, huh?"

He rolled his eyes. " _So pun_ ny."

"Your girlfriend's got jokes."

She gently cupped her hands around his, smiling. "Here, let me help you."

He gave in, standing with arms akimbo, staring at the ceiling and pretending to pout as she giggled to herself, fixing his tie properly. He muttered, "If anyone saw this, my dignity and reputation as University of Tokyo's star soccer player will diminish."

She let out a laugh. " _Star_ soccer player? Cocky, are we?"

"Always."

With a playful tug of his tie, she pulled him closer to her, pressing her lips against his. He returned the kiss, placing his arms around her waist and pulled his body closer to hers. When they broke apart, she was still holding onto his tie, now tracing its edges.

"So, can you tell me why we have to dress up so fancy? This double date isn't with your _parents,_ right?" Tai asked, now gazing over at the mirror by his bed. It was strange; he wasn't used to seeing himself dressed in formal attire. As a senior in college, he had concluded most of his wardrobe consisted of t-shirts and sweatpants, or his soccer uniforms. The fact that he often ate a cup of noodles for dinner was just the cherry on top of his lazy college student persona. When it came to appearances, Tai wasn't the least bit concerned.

She stepped away from him, standing in front of the mirror to reapply her lipstick. "Because I think it'd be fun."

"And what if the couple we're double dating with _isn't_ dressed fancy?"

"Then I guess we'll have to be the best dressed couple in the restaurant."

Tai groaned as she started to laugh in amusement. She said, "I'm kidding! I told my friend we're planning to be the best dressed couple so I'd assume they'll be dressing up too."

"Who the heck are we double dating with, by the way?"

She began to run her fingers through her hair, twisting its curls and seemed to be arranging her hair neatly as if getting ready for a picture. "Oh, my friend from France! We actually didn't find out that we were both studying abroad until, like last week! He's in the city for just a few days - think he may be leaving tomorrow, actually – so I thought it would be nice to catch up while he's here."

"And I fit into this picture _how?"_ Tai joked. She pouted in response.

"Oh, Tai, stop complaining. Plus, I know you love me too much to say no to me. It'll be fun! I'd like you to meet more of my friends, so pretend to be a little more excited, okay?"

Tai didn't answer, and she didn't seem to notice as she continued to pamper herself up in front of his mirror. She turned around, holding the edges of her dress, adorned with sequins, as she bowed. He laughed, rolling his eyes. She asked, "How do I look?"

"You look great, Catherine."

* * *

They held hands as they walked to the restaurant, located just down the street from his apartment. Catherine chattered about life back in France, and how exciting it was to see someone else from France here, and–

Tai stopped paying attention when he noticed people were very visibly staring at them. He gulped, suddenly wishing that he didn't have such a high maintenance girlfriend. Granted, he told himself, at least she wasn't nearly as high maintenance as someone like Mimi. He smiled to himself, amused at the random thought of Mimi. It had been awhile since he had spoken to her, let alone seen her, now that she was attending a university in the United States. Nowadays, he had little contact with his friends from high school, with the exception of Izzy and Matt, as they had remained local. Joe didn't count because he was too busy being a doctor and saving lives and shit, as Tai would always say.

It was rare for the Digidestined to reunite; they had all grown up and had their own lives to focus on, now that the world didn't need saving anymore. The Digital World had put a pause on their lives, and so it wasn't easy for Tai to return to reality, forced to adjust to having to think of himself and his future. He realized that reality was just as cruel as it sounded, and the sad fact was that it was difficult to keep in touch with his old friends on a regular basis.

Ironically, Catherine was someone from his past who had re-entered his life – someone he had, had a childish crush on ages ago.

Catherine was out of his league, and when they accidentally bumped into each other at his university one day, it was to his surprise that they hit it off quickly. Soon after, they had started dating. Izzy and Matt couldn't believe it when they first found out the news.

"Oh, I see him!" Catherine quipped, peering into the restaurant window. Tai followed her lead, staring into the restaurant. A boy with long blonde hair–down to shoulder length–waved back at them, grinning. Thankfully, he was wearing a long-sleeved buttoned up shirt with a bowtie, and Tai sighed in relief, grateful he wouldn't look like the only ridiculously overdressed person in the restaurant.

Catherine pulled Tai's hand, hurrying into the restaurant. She leaned into his ear as they were walking, hurriedly whispering, "Oh, gosh, he's by himself. He had told me he'd bring the girl he was seeing. This will be so awkward if he's alone."

Tai whispered back, "Does this mean we can leave and avoid the awkwardness altogether?"

She nudged him sharply in the hip, and as they approached her friend, she excitedly exclaimed, "Guy! It is so good to see you!"

Tai stifled a laugh – a guy named Guy? – as he watched as Guy stood up and gave Catherine a quick hug.

After, he politely extended his hand out, to which Tai immediately shook and flashed a grin.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Guy. You must be Taichi."

"Yeah, that's me. You can just call me Tai."

They all sat down. Although they had just arrived, Tai was already waiting for this dinner to be over. He liked Catherine, but if was being entirely truthful, he had only agreed to this dinner because he felt obligated, and for another, Catherine seemed overly excited about letting him meet one of her friends. Who knows what the hell she'd make me wear if I met her parents, Tai thought. He shuddered at the idea.

Tai had dated a few girls since high school ended, sure – in fact, he'd say he was quite good with the ladies, but even he could agree that he was not the type for girls to bring home to their parents. Even he could admit he was a bit of a player, as saying that he dated a "few" girls was an understatement. When he first entered the dating scene in college, he had longed to be in a committed relationship. However, the more girls he'd date, the less certain he was of actually meeting someone worth staying around for. Things had been going well with Catherine so far, but it was too early in their relationship for him to even think about meeting her parents.

"Guy, I'm so excited you can finally meet Tai!" She paused. "I thought you were bringing the girl you've been seeing?"

Guy nodded his head. "Yeah, she just ran to the restroom. We haven't been dating that long but she's real sweet. You'll like her, Catherine."

Catherine turned to Tai. "Guy and I have known each other since high school, so we know each other's dating lives pretty well. He always says they're sweet, and then they turn into monsters."

Guy chuckled, shaking his head. "No, no, she's exaggerating."

Tai feigned interest, forcing a laugh. "Wow, it sounds like you guys were good friends?"

Guy responded, "We weren't best friends, but yeah, pretty good friends. Had a few classes together." Guy's eyes suddenly lit up, and he grinned, looking past Tai, raising his hand. "Ah, there she is. Over here, Sora!"

 _Sora_.

Sora was a common name, right?, he asked himself. It couldn't be the Sora _he_ had known all his life. It just couldn't. Right?

Wrong.

Suddenly, everything seemed to play in slow motion. He turned around, uncertain of what to expect, or, rather, who.

A girl with short red hair approached the table, dressed with a simple blue long-sleeved blouse and a black skirt. At first, she had been walking at a brisk pace, but as soon as her amber eyes met with Tai's, she stopped.

"Tai?"

She walked closer, slowly still, and almost cautiously. She let out a chuckle. "Tai! It really is you. It's been _how_ long?"

Tai broke into a huge grin, immediately standing up to give Sora a hug. "Oh, man, _Sora_! I don't even know, geez. Practically haven't seen you since our first year in college, yeah? It seriously feels like it's been _forever._ "

Catherine and Guy stared blankly at the two, and then at each other. Catherine almost had an expression of horror on her face.

She cleared her throat.

Tai and Sora were still standing close to each other, repeatedly stating how amazed they were that it had been so long since they had seen each other, as if they hadn't already said it a dozen times.

Catherine cleared her throat louder, making a noise almost indistinguishably inhuman.

Tai broke his gaze from Sora, suddenly remembering that they were on a double date. A double date. With his girlfriend Catherine. And with his childhood best friend Sora. And with her boyfriend. A guy named Guy.

This night couldn't get weirder. He was certain he had seen stranger things but none seemed as strange as this moment, despite the fact he's fought evil Digital monster in the past.

Tai finally sat down, and Sora followed his lead, nervously smiling. Guy opened his mouth to speak, but Tai had unintentionally and suddenly cut him off as he turned to Catherine, saying, "This is Sora. We've known each other since we were practically in diapers."

Sora rolled her eyes. "We met in grade school. We played soccer together."

"And we kind of saved the world together, Catherine. You know, remember that time I told you about my summer camp trip gone wrong and ended up in the Digital World? Sora was there!"

Catherine raised an eyebrow. "Really," she said, more as a statement than an inquiry. She eyed Guy.

Guy smiled slightly. "Wow, you guys go back further than Catherine and me. Small world."

Sora shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Tai was clueless and didn't sense the tension in the air at all. Catherine's affect continued to remain flat, blowing a curl of her hair away from her face. A waiter stopped by, dropping off glasses of water and menus.

Catherine said, "Now that we've all _introduced each other_ -" she then stared promptly at Tai, looking at him expectedly.

"Oh, Sora, this is my girlfriend, Catherine. I told you about her a million years ago from that time T.K. and I went to France. She's here studying abroad and we're, uh, dating now. Kind of funny we ended up together even though I first met her when we were in middle school."

"See – small world," Guy quipped. "That is pretty funny."

"Yeah–" Sora began.

Catherine leaned over toward Tai, resting her head on his shoulder. "Should we share an appetizer?" she asked, not waiting for a full response from Sora, who quickly shut her mouth awkwardly. She skimmed down the menu, licking her lips. "Mmm, these all sound so good! Should we order the coconut shrimp? That sounds delicious."

Tai shook his head. "No, not that... Sora doesn't like coconut-flavored things. Right, Sora?"

Sora's waved her hand quickly, politely saying, "Oh, go ahead and order what you guys want. Don't worry about me."

Catherine shot a look at Tai. "Oh... You pick then, Tai," she said, with little enthusiasm. She glanced over at Sora, who was smiling widely, although she was trying not to.

"Did I say something funny?" she asked Sora, trying with much difficulty to sound innocent.

"Oh, no, no. It's just that... Tai's probably the worst person to ask to pick the appetizer."

Tai laughed. " _Rude._ I just take my time with the menu because there's so many good things to choose from!"

"Yeah, like that one time you took _twenty_ _minutes_ to finally decide to order some edamame as our appetizer, and then complained about not ordering the gyoza instead after dinner? I'll never forget that."

"Oh, shut up, I was trying to think of you and save us the calories."

"Edamame isn't even _that_ much healthier!"

"You said you were on a diet for tennis at that time, so I was being thoughtful!"

"I'm okay on appetizers," Guy interrupted. "You guys can pick whatever."

The waiter had returned at this point. Catherine quickly said, "We'll start off with the coconut shrimp."

Tai glanced over at Sora apologetically, and she smiled softly in return, shifting her gaze toward her lap.

Catherine couldn't help but notice.

* * *

"That was actually really fun, Catherine. Thanks for inviting me."

"Yeah."

She had her back turned from him. Curiously, he reached out to grab her hand.

They had arrived at her doorstep after she had declined to spend the night at his apartment, much to his confusion.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Catherine spun around abruptly, forcing him to let go of her hand. "Do you even realize what you've done?" she demanded.

He scratched his head. "Um. What do you mean?"

"You've been talking about _Sora_ the entire time since we've left the restaurant! In fact, I feel like I was thirdwheeling _you and Sora!_ Guy and I were practically invisible!"

Tai was at a lost for words. He crossed his arms, thinking quickly. Was that what had really happened? He hadn't even really noticed. He was certain - and could have sworn - that all four of them were equally involved in tonight's conversations.

"I-I'm... I'm sorry. I've known Sora since we were kids. We haven't seen each other since our first year in college, and it was just kind of nice to talk to her again. I didn't think we were ignoring you guys."

Catherine mimicked him, folding her arms. "Yeah, _must be nice,_ trying to catch up with a friend you haven't seen in a long time. Kind of like what I was trying to do with Guy?"

Tai remained silent. Immediately, he felt a pang of guilt.

"Why didn't you tell me about her?" Catherine spat.

"Tell you about Sora? What? I'm serious - We really haven't seen each other in, like, three or four years. We barely talk anymore; she lives in Kyoto for school and we've just been too busy to keep up. It'd be weird if I had mentioned her out of nowhere to you. Like, 'By the way, I have a childhood friend named Sora. We don't talk much but I wanted to mention that to you.' See? Weird."

"Did you ever date her?"

Tai laughed, although he didn't mean to. He wouldn't admit it to Catherine, but it was almost a joke to think that Sora would have ever dated him. "Of course not. You remember T.K.? When we first met in France? She dated his older brother, Matt."

"So she's dated _quite a few guys,_ it sounds like."

He was almost flabbergasted at this point, nearly to the point of frustration, but he knew he was in the wrong for what had happened tonight, and he wanted to right his wrong. He tried to convince himself that she had the right to be mad at him – had the right to question him. "I didn't say that. I said she dated _one_ guy, Matt, whose little brother you've met before, and now she's dating Guy."

Catherine stared at him blankly. Tai sighed. He knew what she was waiting for. "Sora and I never dated. I swear."

"You swear," she repeated.

Tai attempted to kiss her, but she pulled away. He said reassuringly, "I swear."

"You have never been her boyfriend."

"I have never been her boyfriend."

"You swear."

Tai groaned loudly, hoping to make Catherine laugh at his goofiness, but she didn't even crack a smile. He straightened up, firmly stating, "I swear."

He slowly put his arms around her waist, which she reluctantly and silently gave him permission to. He gave her a quick peck on the forehead. "Happy?"

She looked down at her feet, shaking her head.

"Then..." she said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Swear to me you've never liked her. Swear that you've never had thoughts of dating her."

"What?"

"You heard me."

He hesitated, unable to say a word, let alone be able to think, and it was within those several seconds of hesitation that Catherine had decided she was done speaking to him for the night, and she turned her heel, slamming the door in Tai's face.

Tai stared at the door, a million thoughts racing through his mind, and none involved resolving his argument with Catherine. He hated to admit it, but he was shocked at his lack of response to Catherine's request. How hard would it have been to just lie? He's lied to girls before to let them hear what they wanted. Wait - lie? He wasn't even sure if he had really liked Sora that way - she had dated Matt before Tai could even process _what_ his feelings for her were.

 _Bzzt_!

Reaching for his vibrating cellphone in his pocket, Tai turned around, walking away from Catherine's doorstep and slowly headed home.

He turned on his phone, reading a new text message that had been sent to him:

 _Sora Takenouchi_  
 _Nice seeing you tonight, Goggles. Your girlfriend's very pretty - no wonder you've been too busy to talk! (who would've thought the girl of your childhood dreams would actually be your gf someday? Lol)_

Several seconds later, another text message appeared.

 _Sora Takenouchi  
_ _Let me know if you wanna meet up real quick tonight for late night ice cream? Sry, last min., I know. I'm leaving tomorrow to go back to Kyoto. It's cool if you can't._

Tai sighed. It would be easy to just not reply. It would be easy to go back to Catherine's and beg her to forgive him, which is probably what she wanted. It would be easy to decline Sora's offer and head home, and to not think twice about when would be the next time he'd see her.

He stared at his cellphone, biting his lip.

He stared.

And stared.

And finally, he made a decision.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hi, FF readers! It's been awhile since I've written anything on here, and I feel like I will instantly regret publishing this because, like my other stories, I'm not really sure what the heck I'm doing and a lot of times I write on a whim, lol! To be honest, I got sick from work with the stomach flu and stayed home all day yesterday. In my boredom, I read some fanfiction and was suddenly inspired to write something. I think this will be a very short story. This chapter isn't finished, hence the Part I - mostly because I don't know if anyone is even interested in reading this, and partly because I don't totally know what direction I'm going with this story, haha. I just know it'll span over the four seasons: fall, winter, spring, summer.

Tai and co. are in college (if you couldn't tell, haha). They're all still friends, but like most people who go to college, they don't speak on a regular basis. However, when they do reunite, it's like things haven't changed at all. The title, Skyline, doesn't have a huge significance. It'll be mentioned later. I just didn't like something cheesy like "Seasons of Love" being the title, or something like that, haha. Oh, and Catherine is from Digimon Adventure 02 - I haven't seen that episode in _forever,_ so she's practically an OC in this story since I don't remember her personality (although I'm sure she isn't a jealous person like I made her in this story).

Chapter titles will be from Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You," mostly because I'm just super addicted to the song at the moment. Might change in future chapters (if there are any future chapters, lol).

I'd love to hear feedback - please be kind enough to leave a review with your thoughts! Seriously - I really don't know if I should continue this story, LOL. Thank you!


	2. Fall, Part II

**SKYLINE**

– Fall –

Part II

 _Come on now, follow my lead._

She stood at the edge of the sidewalk, isolated from the bustles of people eagerly and hurriedly speeding to their destinations. It seemed surreal to be back in Tokyo; she had forgotten how it was often as though the city never slept. Truthfully, that was what she was most grateful for in this city – there was never a dull moment in Tokyo, and in moments of uncertainty, loss, and all things in-between, there was something special about seeing the city skyline this late at night that made her remember, _this is home._

She exhaled, a trail of her breath escaping her lips. Shivering, she suddenly realized how bad of an idea it was to get ice cream when it was so unexpectedly chilly outside.

Rubbing her hands together in an effort to warm herself up, she examined her surroundings. No signs of him anywhere.

Perhaps he had changed his mind.

Paranoid, she pulled out her cellphone again, convincing herself that she hadn't just imagined he had agreed to meet her.

 _Tai Kamiya  
Sure thing. You know I'm always down for ice cream. Meet you at our usual spot in twenty? _

Sora mentally smacked herself in the head. She had forgotten to reply to him.

As she quickly typed away at her cellphone, she felt a tap on her shoulder, along with the sense that somebody behind her was hovering over her. The figure leaned toward her, and a deep voice said into her ear, "Excuse me, miss? How do I get to the subway station from here?"

She quickly pocketed her cellphone, turning around and stating, "Oh, you just turn the corner– "

She stopped, frowning and bringing her fist to lightly punch the figure's shoulder, realizing that this person was not a stranger.

" _Not_ funny, Tai! You know I always fall for that!"

Tai stood before her, clutching his stomach from laughter. Promptly, Sora folded her arms and tapped her foot, trying hard to not smile at his amusement.

She pushed him lightly, making her way past him and headed toward the ice cream shop. He sprinted past her, ensuring that he'd get to the door first, and pulled it opened for her, motioning for her to enter with his open hand. She raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes as she walked in, giggling to herself.

"You can pretend to be a gentleman all you want but I know you better than that, Tai Kamiya."

They approached the counter, bickering about who would pay for the other while waiting in line ("I'm a man! You're leaving tomorrow – let me just pay for you!" "No, I'm the one who asked you to get ice cream with me! Let me treat you!"), until finally they agreed to pay for their own frozen treats separately after they couldn't reach an agreement by the time they reached the cashier.

The cashier giggled and said, "My boyfriend and I are just like you guys, arguing who'll pay!" She winked at Sora. "Sometimes boyfriends are so stubborn, huh?"

Sora smiled. Having grown up together as close companions of the opposite sex, Sora became accustomed to strangers mistaking the pair as a couple. It came to the point where she hadn't bothered to correct people anymore – there really was no use, and Tai and Sora often found it amusing how many people would just assume they were more than friends.

"Oh, I'm not her boyfriend," Tai said, almost startling Sora with surprise. She looked at him curiously. In the past, Tai had never bothered to correct anyone either. Perhaps it was because things were going well with Catherine that he wanted to establish himself as someone off the dating market. She didn't think things with Catherine were... serious. She couldn't remember the last time Tai had actually corrected someone on their relationship status.

"She has a boyfriend," Tai finished.

"And he has a girlfriend," Sora automatically chimed in.

"We're just friends," they said in unison. They stared at each other, and Sora suddenly felt her face flushing into a deep shade of red.

"Jinx," Tai sharply whispered to Sora, smiling, and he handed the cashier several bills, adding, "Keep the change."

Sora hadn't reacted quickly enough to realize he had paid for her as well.

When they sat down, Tai began to chow down furiously at his chocolate ice cream, as if having starved for several days. Sora stared in amazement as he didn't seem to stop to get a gasp of air, scooping his ice cream continuously, almost without chewing fully.

"Th-Thank you, Tai," Sora said slowly, still staring with bulged eyes. She didn't dare blink, simultaneously too amused and too shocked to miss such a sight in front of her. "For paying. I'm sorry I didn't text you back – it kind of slipped my mind. I'm glad you–" She stopped. Sora couldn't take him seriously. It was as if he had never eaten ice cream before in his life. "Tai… You're such a slob! You're going to choke if you don't slow down!"

Tai swallowed, wiping his lips with a napkin, and suddenly winced, groaning out, "Brain freeze."

Sora chuckled, adding, "That's what you get. Your manners from dinner don't seem to apply for dessert, huh?"

"Catherine isn't huge on desserts, which in itself is probably the worst thing ever, so I haven't had ice cream in ages. Oh, and it's okay you didn't text me; it's a good thing my fat ass came here regardless because, as you can tell, I really wanted ice cream," Tai explained.

She laughed, and then faked a gasp. "Tai? Dating someone who doesn't like dessert? What has the world come to?"

He raised his arms in the air in the response. " _Right?_ I don't know what the hell I was thinking."

They both laughed. Sora took a bite of her strawberry ice cream, closing her eyes and exaggerating an, "Mmm."

Tai continued eating – at a slower pace, albeit still slightly barbaric; it was comical to Sora. "Yeah. At least I can eat like this in front of you."

"Gee, I'm so honored," Sora replied, tone drenched in sarcasm. "It explains a lot; I was wondering why you were eating so… so civil-like? At the restaurant. You know, using forks and knives and all, instead of just digging in with your hands like a savage."

"I didn't want to gross out anyone, including _your boyfriend,"_ Tai said slyly. "And _speaking_ of which, Guy, huh?" He raised his eyebrows up and down.

Sora blushed. "It's nothing serious. Probably nothing like you and Catherine. I'm just seeing him casually; it's only been a few weeks."

Tai let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "We're not really that serious either… We had a fight earlier, actually."

"What? What about? Shouldn't you be trying to talk to her instead of being here with me?" Sora asked, confused, setting aside a spoonful of ice cream she had just scooped.

Tai was now stirring his empty cup with his spoon, eyes downcast.

Sora was well aware of the fact that Tai was now known as a ladies' man. It shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did, if she was being honest. Tai had grown up quite handsomely, and even she couldn't deny his charm. She couldn't count the number of times she had lied to girls about Tai's relationship status. She felt a need to be overprotective of her best friend – no one ever seemed good enough for him, and so she didn't feel the need to let them know he was single at the time. She didn't get the sense that Catherine was 'the one' for him, but they seemed quite happy at dinner earlier in the evening, so she struggled to hold back from sharing how she really felt about Catherine.

"It's nothing. I was just being stupid. Besides, it was either try kissing her ass all night to forgive me, or spend time with you before you leave." He looked up at Sora. "It was a no-brainer, really."

"I... I feel bad," Sora said softly.

She had meant it, but deep down, and she'd never admit aloud to anyone, it made her feel good that Tai still valued his time with her, even enough to place her above his own girlfriend. She felt awful for thinking it, but she was relieved mostly because she didn't have the greatest of first impressions of Catherine.

She had sensed Catherine wasn't her biggest fan either.

Perhaps they had, had a row about her?

"Sora, it's fine," Tai replied reassuringly. "You're my best friend. She'll just have to accept that. Plus, most people forgive me for the stupid shit I do. I mean, how many times have I had to ask you to forgive me?"

He grinned.

She smirked in return. "I only forgave you over a dozen times because you'd be lost without me."

Tai pointed his spoon at her. "Hey, I've been doing just fine these past few years since you, you know, decided to neglect me and all."

"Neglect you? You're the one who's been too busy with school and soccer to keep in touch!"

"I'm the one who always hits you up first!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"You can't be serious."

"Sora, I've _always_ tried to reach out to you ever since–"

He stopped abruptly, appearing to struggle to finish his sentence. His gaze shifted from hers, focusing at his empty cup once more instead. Sora's ice cream had melted at this point, becoming nothing more than unsavory liquid. Oh, well – she was beginning to lose her appetite anyway.

Sora didn't understand. She was certain she had tried just as hard to keep in touch with Tai. It wasn't like they _never_ talked throughout these years. There was the fact that there was the obvious physical distance between them, on top of their own busy schedules, and it wasn't like they had as much free time as they had, had in high school.

At the same time, she knew it wasn't like Tai to throw an accusation as such at her without reason.

"Ever since what?" she inquired.

He said in a low tone, "Ever since you and Matt started dating. That's when things changed. Sorry, I was just exaggerating initially – I didn't mean to escalate this whole thing."

Sora didn't respond, thoughts racing through her mind as she tried to put together the pieces – did their distance really begin with her?

Even she had to admit her romance with Matt seemed out of the blue, and while she did really have feelings for Matt back then, she had always thought of Tai as one of her top priorities – even more so than Matt. After all, Tai had been her friend for the longest amount of time. If anyone was going to be around for the remainder of her lifetime, it would be Tai.

It had always been Tai.

Didn't he understand that?

Perhaps it was her fault that he didn't.

They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity before Tai finally said, "Geez. I'm an asshat. Sorry. Let's get out of here, okay? Forget I said anything because I'm just really glad we're here together right now, and I don't want to waste any time."

He stared at her desperately, pressing her mentally for a response but to no avail, as she continued to refuse to return his gaze.

Sighing, he stood, extending his hand.

Reluctantly, she took it.

* * *

"Welcome to my crib."

He threw his keys casually onto the table in the living room, heading into the kitchen and she scurried behind him, following his lead.

It was getting late, but Tai had insisted on showing Sora his flat, since she hadn't seen it yet after all these years. She agreed, which didn't take much convincing anyway, reminding him that she had an early train ride tomorrow to return to Kyoto, but in her mind she knew she'd stay for awhile – a night at Tai's almost always meant an all-nighter of silly antics. Still, if she was going to have a sleepless night, it was nice to have that with Tai, despite their confusing conversation from earlier. Besides, she was curious to see what his place looked like.

He placed his cellphone onto the kitchen counter before popping open the refrigerator door, immediately grabbing a container of yogurt and proceeding to gulp it down.

"Tai!" Sora said, laughing. "You're disgusting! We _just_ ate!"

"Oh, sorry, did you want some?" Tai joked, handing her the yogurt.

She rolled her eyes as a signal of declination.

She began to roam around his flat, noting that it was impressively clean. "Do you still live with Izzy?" she asked as she ambled into the living room, observing the surprising amount of pictures of Tai and Izzy's high school days posted in frames on the walls. She was in a number of the pictures. She couldn't help but notice that there were no pictures of Tai and Catherine.

"Yeah, still been living together since year one of college. He's probably sleeping right now. Kid's been studying all day, and school hasn't even started!"

Ah, that explained the cleanliness.

"I'll tell him you stopped by and said hello," Tai hollered, with his voice somewhat muffled, as if he had started to eat something else. Despite having said Izzy was likely sleeping, Tai didn't lower his voice.

They had remained awkwardly silent about tonight's earlier ordeal, neither of them bringing it up again. Sora was still lost in her thoughts and was becoming mentally exhausted from overthinking, overanalyzing.

She couldn't help it. It felt like Tai was keeping something from her, which was unlike him. It was normal for people to not keep in touch during their college years, but he had mentioned the period in which she had first started to date Matt – that was well before their undergraduate studies began.

Well, she thought to herself, he hasn't brought it up, so I guess we can move forward.

"So, about earlier," a voice came behind her.

Nevermind.

Tai walked around her and plopped onto the couch.

"I, um–" he began. "You–You were right. I have been busy, and so have you. I shouldn't have said it like it was your fault. I've just missed being with you is all. I should just be happy we can still consider each other close friends."

"But you said you've felt this way since Matt and I had started dating," Sora retorted. She turned to him and sat down beside him. "That was _middle school._ "

Sheepishly, Tai brought his hand to the back of his head, now standing up straight. "Yeah, well, I, er–... Just kind of felt like I had lost you. I dunno."

* * *

What the hell am I saying?, Tai thought.

He had done it – shoveled up a hole and now he was just digging deeper and deeper without a sense of control.

It frustrated him that he was making her visibly upset, and he knew she was too stubborn to admit she was hurt.

She was withdrawn, and he knew he had to make things right. She was leaving tomorrow, and he didn't know when she'd return. If he was going to fuck up things with two girls tonight, he _had_ to make things right with the one he cared about more, as awful as he realized it made him sound. If Catherine couldn't accept his friendships – especially one that mattered to him most – then he just couldn't see himself bothering to make it up to her.

The issue was that he had always avoided the topic of Sora and Matt dating.

When it happened, no one was more surprised than Tai. He was confused and, in a way, betrayed.

Most of all, he felt disappointed that she had seen something in Matt, and not him.

Tai had fooled everyone into thinking he was completely supportive of the pair getting together, including himself. He had come to realize he was in denial for a long, long time. He had always felt conflicted about their relationship, both struggling to understand why they were together and being happy for them. It really wasn't like he _wasn't_ happy for them – but there was always that quiet, confused voice in the back of his mind that had asked, _Why him?_

He was also selfish, he had decided.

"What do you mean by feeling like you had lost me, Tai?" Sora asked. She gently put her hand on his arm, looking concerned. He sighed, unsure of his next response.

"I..."

"Did you like me?"

"No."

The response was instantaneous – it was so quick, even he was shocked it came out of his mouth.

And it was a blatant lie.

"Oh."

For a second there, he could have sworn he sensed disappointment in her voice, but convinced himself to believe otherwise. She pulled his hand away from him, clutching her own arm. Her body shifted from his, and instinctively he pulled away as well.

What is _wrong_ with me?, Tai wondered. Sure, he could lie to any girl, but this was _Sora._ She didn't deserve this. Yet, he couldn't find the courage to admit he had lied. So much for the Crest of Courage. Really, he was a coward.

Sora nodded slowly, as if understanding something. "I see," she murmured. "I had always thought we..."

"We...?"

"N-Nevermind... You know what? We should just Netflix and chill."

" _WHAT?"_

"Tai, quiet down!" Sora exclaimed. "Izzy's sleeping!"

He whispered sharply, " _YOU WANT TO WHAT_?"

"Why are you whisper-yelling?! I just said we should Netflix and chill!"

" _I KNOW._ Do you even know what that _means_?"

Sora stared at him blankly, and it dawned at him she had no idea what the phrase had meant. She was an innocent one, that Sora.

"Doesn't that mean we change the subject and we watch something on Netflix and, uh, chill?"

He chuckled. "Sure. That's what it means. Sora, please don't say that to anyone else besides your boyfriend. Google it later."

He couldn't help it – he began to crack up laughing, as she sat beside him, confused, trying to refrain from giggling herself, all while trying to shush him to lower his voice. He grabbed the remote and turned on his TV, shaking his head in amazement.

"Izzy's going to be so mad when we wake him up!"

"You'd be surprised at how heavy of a sleeper he is. Ah, man, Sora, you're so innocent, it's cute."

She blushed. "I didn't think it was a dirty phrase! Now I don't think I _want_ to know what it actually means."

He reached over and ruffled her hair with his hand. "Too cute."

" _It's not cute!" s_ he shrieked, pretending to swat his hand.

"Shh, Izzy's sleeping."

"Stupid Tai!"

They bickered about which movie to watch until Sora had finally decided on _A Walk to Remember,_ because it was the only movie that could manage to make Tai tear up and she was the guest, and "Guests always get to pick!" she had insisted. He grumbled, "Alright," but didn't mind at all.

In an instant, everything was golden – like time itself had not passed the last few years, and things felt right, feelings unchanged. The conversation from before was unfinished – both knew it, and neither dared to bring it up again, at least for the remainder of the night, just so they could grasp these last moments together longer.

He didn't want her to leave.

He didn't want this to go away. Not again.

Did Sora feel the same way?

Yet, in the back of his mind, he remembered his lie, how disappointed he was that he didn't even _hesitate_ to lie, and remained silent on the matter. It would do no good to bring it up again and risk losing these moments, which were dwindling down to a mere few hours with her.

They sat in warm comfort, and it wasn't until toward the end of the movie that they were huddled closer together, shoulder to shoulder. If either of them had realized it, neither of them pulled away.

"Tai," she whispered, almost lethargically – or was it him who was now drowsy? He could barely keep his eyes open.

"Let's try to keep in touch more often this year, okay?"

Okay.

He was certain he responded aloud. All he could think in his last waking moments was, _I'm going to tell her I didn't mean what I said earlier. I did like her, and I..._

* * *

She blinked slowly at first.

In a haze, she let out a yawn, instinctively reaching out for her alarm clock, only to realize she wasn't home. She felt a tickle against her cheek, as if someone was stroking it, and suddenly realized there was weight on her shoulder.

Sora turned her head slightly to see its source, and to ensure this wasn't just a dream, and was more than convinced this was actually reality when she realized she and Tai had fallen asleep. Tai continued to remain in his deep slumber, breathing lightly as his head rested against Sora's shoulder, his gravity-defying hair pressed lightly against the side of her face.

Carefully, she lifted her cellphone from her back pocket, and her eyes widened when she looked at the time.

 _04:31._

Shit.

Her train was leaving in two hours.

Should I wake him up?, she mused.

She turned to him – he looked too peaceful, and she didn't want to trouble him. After all, she knew being woken up at ungodly hours such as this was one of his pet peeves.

Carefully, she slipped toward the edge of the couch, his body now leaning against hers, until she was able to maneuver around him and slide off the couch without waking him.

Sora tiptoed into the hallway, slipping into the room with the open door, assuming the closed door across the way belonged to Izzy. She patted the walls, searching for the light switch. When she flipped the light on, she winced and quickly grabbed the blanket on the bed and scurried back to the living room. She stepped over Tai's body, carefully laying down the blanket over him.

She smiled genuinely. Tonight was the most fun she had, had in a long time, and she had to ask herself why these moments were now so rare.

 _"Did you like me?"_

 _"No."_

Sora's expression slowly faded. She had already known the answer, yet hearing it out loud from Tai himself made her feel... She didn't know. All she knew was that it wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. She shook off the thought. What did it matter? He had a girlfriend. She had a boyfriend. A casual boyfriend. A boyfriend who she didn't have as much fun with as Tai. Still, he was a boyfriend.

It _doesn't_ matter, she told herself.

She hastily turned off the TV and made her leave out the door quietly, taking one last second to glance over at Tai before shutting the door.

* * *

He awoke suddenly as a pair of hands violently shook his arms.

"Tai!"

He rubbed his eyes, groggily moaning out, "Sora?"

"Huh? No, it's me, Izzy."

Tai jolted up.

What had happened? He examined his surroundings quickly – the TV was turned off, sunlight was peaking through the blinds, he was covered in his blanket which he hadn't remembered grabbing, and a very concerned Izzy stood before him, hands on his hips. He brought a finger to his temple and rubbed it from the throbbing of having to recollect his thoughts.

Double date – ice cream – Netflix with no chill – conversations – a memorable night – a lie – Sora –

 _I need to tell her I lied._

"Are you okay? You usually don't fall asleep in the living room unless you're drunk," Izzy remarked, deadpan. He added, "Why'd you think Sora was here?"

"Sora!" Tai exclaimed, jumping up and nearly knocking over Izzy. "Quick – What time is it?!"

"Er, it's six-thirteen?"

Tai pushed past Izzy, rushing down the hallway and dodging into the bathroom. He nearly squeezed the entire tube of toothpaste onto his toothbrush as he jammed it into his mouth for about fifteen seconds before spitting and rinsing. A disturbed Izzy had followed meekly behind him.

If I run, I could catch her before she hops onto the shinkansen, Tai calculated, as he began to gargle some mouth wash.

"Uh, I don't know what you're in such a big rush for, but you've got about ten missed calls in the last hour," Izzy stated.

Crap.

Why would Sora just leave and _then_ call me?, Tai asked himself.

He slid past Izzy and sprinted into the kitchen, grabbing his cellphone from the counter.

His heart dropped. The missed calls weren't from Sora.

 _12 missed calls.  
5 unopened text messages._

 _Catherine Deneuve  
babe, i'm sorry about earlier. let's talk this out. can i come over? maybe spend the night? ;) _

_Catherine Deneuve  
i need to see you, i'm just going to come over, ok? see you soon!_

 _Catherine Deneuve_  
 _WHERE THE HELL R U. I CAME OVER AND IZZY SAID YOU HADN'T BEEN BACK. WTF_

 _Catherine Deneuve_  
 _are you with her? Tai Kamiya, if you are with her i will never forgive you_

 _Catherine Deneuve  
i called you twice and no answer? you're ignoring me. i'm going back home. i'm assuming if you love me you will call me in the morning and explain yourself._

He stood in stunned silence, unable to process what was happening.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed, indicating an incoming caller, and he nearly dropped it as he loomed over at the caller ID: Catherine making her thirteenth call.

If he left now, he could catch Sora before she hopped onto the train.

If he answered the call, he'd be on the phone for hours with Catherine, stuck in his apartment.

If he didn't pick up her call, she'd break up with him.

Perhaps he could run to the station while talking to Catherine – no, she'd be able to tell he was out going somewhere in a hurry, which wouldn't do him any good.

Tai was torn – part of him did sincerely have feelings for Catherine. On the other hand, there was something about Sora – and his friendship with her – that was far stronger, and the night was just a reminder of how special their bond was. Still, he _was_ a taken man. Sure, he had been a jerk to girls in the past, but he had never taken it as far as spending the night with another girl while dating someone, even in the most innocent sense. And Sora was a taken woman.

The latter thought lingered for a second longer. Sora was with somebody else.

And what good would telling her the truth be anyway? What would it accomplish? What was he _hoping_ it would accomplish?

He glanced over at the front door, and then his gaze lingered toward his cellphone. Izzy hadn't the slightest clue of what was going on, but he stared at Tai with intensity, sensing that something was wrong.

Tai touched the screen of his phone.

He swiped his finger.

"Catherine, I can explain."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hello, everyone! Thank you for reading!

A few notes about the story: Shinkansen = a high-speed train in Japan, a.k.a. "bullet train." I actually went to Japan for the first time this past November and rode on the Hikari train from Tokyo to Osaka - it was so cool!

The chapter titles will be from Ed Sheeran's _Shape of You_ (I mentioned this in the first chapter but I also wasn't 100% sure if it was going to be an ongoing thing for the remainder of the story - it will be!). Right now we're looking at this story being a total of nine chapters. It _might_ be a little more because I'm thinking of adding side chapters in between the main ones to add to character development, as I've just now realized that having two characters fall in love and have it be believable at the same time over snippets over a course of a year is going to be difficult, lol. What do you guys think? I guess they may be considered 'filler' chapters that are optional as they won't affect the main story. It's just an idea though; I'm not sure if I will be doing that for sure.

Also, I'm sticking to the T rating for now, but this fic may feature mature themes since the gang's all in college (for those who've read my past stuff, you'll know that I usually write them as high school kids!). Oh, and I was originally going to have Matt as Tai's roommate, but I thought it'd be weird since he and Sora had dated, and I personally adore Tai and Izzy's friendship much more.

Anyway, enough with my rambling - I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! Please consider leaving a review! I always get so nervous when I post things on this website, lol. I will try to update my profile with any news regarding the next chapter (with that said, unfortunately, I don't have an idea of when the next chapter will be done).

 _Next_ : Winter, Part I (unless I do an aforementioned side chapter - otherwise, WINTER IS COMING).


	3. Before Winter

**Author's Note:** I am so sorry about the lack of update! You can read my profile for my excuse, if you're interested in my extremely boring life, lol. Thank you for your patience!

This is somewhat of a side chapter. I don't necessarily want to call it a filler because it should still be read for the story to make sense, but it also isn't a "main" chapter... hope that isn't too confusing, lol. I hope you enjoy and would consider leaving a review!

* * *

 **SKYLINE**

– Before Winter –

Koushiro Izumi, or "Izzy" as many would grow to calling him after catching onto Tai Kamiya's nickname for him, was, to say the least, a smart guy. "Smart" was really rather an understatement at the insistence of numerous people, but he was humble and always found it difficult to accept such compliments – or _any_ expressions of praise, admittedly. He wasn't like Joe, naturally intelligent and passionate enough to endure the medical field without pressure holding him back. He wasn't like Tai, innately funny and particularly charming with people, a weakness of his own. Hell, he felt he could barely compare himself to Davis, who was indubitably a goofball but loved by all.

Often, Izzy acknowledged it was as though he blended in with the background, and he didn't mind at all. He was keen to liking the idea that he was more of a behind-the-scenes type of guy, and didn't like attention all that much. He much preferred to hide in his own insecurities, rather than have people try to fix them. Most people couldn't look past his "smart guy" persona anyway, and would often overlook that he had many flaws of his own.

It couldn't be helped.

Still, in times like these, sometimes he wish he was a blend of Joe, Tai, and Davis, and whoever else, because he didn't know what to do. It wasn't like he could research this type of thing on the Internet. A socially inept person such as himself would have to succumb to doing what he didn't do best – communicate verbally with his peers. Well, with one peer in particular – a hard-headed Tai who wasn't giving him any hints or clues as to what was going on.

Izzy sat awkwardly on the couch, hands folded politely on his lap, eyes tracing back and forth as he observed Tai pacing the living room as he spoke almost frantically into his phone.

Based on his examinations of the scenes leading up to this moment after he had first woken up, Izzy had deduced to several things:

1\. Sora had been in town, which he found strange because Tai would often tell Izzy ahead of time if he knew she was coming to visit from Kyoto. Over the years, Izzy had found himself too busy to socialize much with the Digidestined, especially since Izzy was graduating a year earlier than most his age, but Tai would usually update him on what Sora and the others had been up to, since Tai would be the one to hang out with them whenever they visited. Not only had Sora been in Tokyo, but Izzy concluded she had spent the night at their flat. What had, had happened between Tai and Sora last night led him to believe that,

2\. Catherine found out what happened between Tai and Sora last night, and even Izzy could pick up the social cues that Catherine sounded _pissed._ Tai and Catherine hadn't been dating long, but Izzy, who had been single all his life, could only assume that having another girl spend the night, especially with someone who was as close to Tai as Sora, was not the wisest idea. Izzy never gave Tai dating Catherine much thought. He never thought they'd last, but perhaps he had underestimated their relationship. After all, at one point it seemed as though Tai was bringing home a new girl every other week.

And 3. Now Tai was trying to make up to Catherine for whatever happened last night.

What _did_ happen last night?, Izzy wondered. He paused before finishing the thought. Maybe he didn't want to know.

Still, it wasn't like Tai to cheat on a girlfriend. Tai had always been a genuine person – maybe stupid at times, and _always_ irrational, but he'd never intentionally hurt someone. It just wasn't in his character.

"She's my best friend," Izzy heard Tai say firmly into the phone.

Izzy was only half-listening, partially because he was lost in his own thoughts, and also because he didn't want to be _too_ nosy.

To think that Tai and Sora had hooked up, though, wasn't a surprise to Izzy. In fact, he could only wonder what took so long, and why it hadn't happened sooner. Izzy didn't know anything about relationships, but even he could see there was undeniable chemistry between the two, even if they did often bicker because of Tai's naivety and Sora's stubbornness. Even when Sora had moved to Kyoto to live with her father to attend college, Tai still spoke highly of her to this day.

He supposed that if Tai _did_ ever cheat – which he still couldn't bring himself to believe – it would be with Sora. There just couldn't have been anyone else who would make Tai succumb to doing such a thing. Then again, he also couldn't imagine Sora to be the culprit behind an affair either. She, too, didn't have it in her character. None of the events unfolding before him made sense. Izzy silently nodded to himself, furrowing his brow, mentally noting that the complications of relationships may be a thing that better remained a mystery to him and not to be a part of. In fact, he believed he'd rather be facing an evil Digimon than the wrath of an angry girlfriend.

"I'm sorry I didn't pick up your calls, but–" he heard Tai say, and was cut off when Tai nearly slammed the door of his room shut behind him. He hadn't noticed that Tai had even left the living room in the first place.

Izzy sat awkwardly on the couch, hearing the _tick, tick, ticks_ of the clock as the walls muffled out Tai's conversation.

He slowly stood up, ambling over to the hallway, and paused before stepping into his own room. He could hear Tai still speaking almost quietly, and gently.

"He'll be fine," Izzy said to himself aloud, attempting to reassure himself. He stepped inside his room and placed his hand on the edge of the door, hesitating to close it, and he didn't know why.

* * *

Izzy had attempted to study for his upcoming courses, but found it hard to concentrate even after several hours, a first for him in a long time. He could still hear Tai speaking on the phone from across the hallway, and he couldn't tell if he was arguing or speaking normally. Tai had always been an easy person to read; it didn't take a genius to figure if Tai was happy or sad. With the way this was going, Izzy simply could not figure out if his phone call with Catherine was going well. It was just strange to him that Tai could stay on the phone with someone for that long; Izzy couldn't stand being on the phone for one minute.

He jumped, startled, when his own phone sitting next to his laptop suddenly started ringing, playing Vivaldi's _The Four Seasons,_ a ringtone he hadn't heard in ages because Izzy would almost never get phone calls, save for the occasional check-ups from his parents, or people who would accidentally buttdial him (more often than not it was usually Tai).

He reached over, raising an eyebrow at the caller ID. _Sora Takenouchi._

Perhaps she had rung the wrong person. Although hesitant initially, he picked up the phone, ready to hang up again in the event that he was correct.

"Erm, hello?" he stammered.

"Hi, Izzy!"

He was wrong.

"Hello, Sora," Izzy responded, surprised. He lifted a hand up to his hair to scratch his head in confusion.

"Hi, Izzy," she repeated in the same cheerful tone. Despite the sincerity in her voice, he couldn't help but feel curious, and even, to a slight degree, suspicious of her motives.

There was a pause. Izzy pursed his lips, unsure of how to respond.

"How are you?" she asked, voice nearly croaking. He was certain she felt the same way, even though she was the one who called him.

"I'm doing fine, Sora. I haven't heard from you. How are you?"

"Good, good."

Izzy wished she would get to the point – there must be a reason why she was calling. She never called him just to ask how he was doing – that was often something she'd do with Tai.

"Er, is there something you need help with?" Izzy asked. Usually when people rung him up it was less about how Izzy was doing and more of a computer-related question that required assistance. He had grown accustomed to it, to the point where he nearly expected it every time he received a phone call. Still, Izzy wasn't naive enough to believe that Sora, all of a sudden upon returning home to Kyoto, had an inquiry regarding her computer at these early hours in the morning, and so he added, "Uh, were you trying to reach Tai? Do you want me to get him for you?"

"No!" Sora said quickly in a tone a tad higher than normal, almost with the sense of urgency. She lowered her voice, "Um, I mean, no, thank you. I wanted to talk to you, actually."

"You did?" he inquired, confused. "Are you sure?"

She laughed in response. "Yes, I'm sure! I, er, actually stopped by your place last night after I hung out with Tai."

Izzy wasn't certain if he should tell her that he was already aware of the fact, although either way all he could muster out was an, "Oh?"

"Yeah, I would have loved to say hello, but you had already fallen asleep. You're a deep sleeper, Izzy! With how loudly Tai was speaking, you'd think he was talking to someone who was hard of hearing."

He let out an exasperated sigh, clearly no stranger to the notoriously, and quite frankly obnoxiously, noisy Tai. Whether he was sad, happy, surprised, angry, you name it – Tai never learned how to express his emotions in a tone appropriate for the indoor setting. _Much like a child,_ Izzy thought to himself. He raised his head, perking up his ears. Through the layers of walls, he could still hear Tai speaking on the phone, yet was still unable to distinguish the status of the conversation; while it didn't sound like a breakup, it didn't sound any more promising than a compromise. Suddenly, he remembered he hadn't responded to Sora, who was quiet on the other line. _It would be easier if she had just texted me,_ thought Izzy. He said, "After living with him for several years, you get used to it."

"I can imagine," she said, chuckling quietly.

Izzy smiled too. "It's never boring with Tai around, though, I suppose."

"Oh, never," she agreed. She continued, "I just wanted to ask ... gosh, I don't know why I'm having such a difficult time just saying it! I, um, have a huge fashion show that I'll be part of this upcoming winter for my internship and was wondering if you'd come?"

Izzy waited a moment, uncertain of how to respond, and ensuring she had no further comments to add. Of all his years of living, he had never been so confused, unable to calculate the situation. Sora was asking Izzy to go to one of her events? He hadn't been invited to anything of hers since her days in tennis, and even then she'd invite the whole Digidestined gang, not just him. Was she asking him _out_? _What in the hell did Tai do to screw up so bad that Sora would resort to asking_ me _to go anywhere with her?,_ Izzy contemplated.

"As in... just me?" Izzy said slowly and cautiously.

"Oh, well, I'd actually like to invite everyone since this is my biggest project of my final year in school. It's really important to me and last night made me realize that I haven't reached out to everyone as often as I should've... Do you think Tai would want to come?"

Finally – an answer, which Izzy was desperately scrapping around his brain for. She was obviously trying to have him invite Tai on her behalf. He sighed in relief, unable to imagine what he'd have to do in the event he actually been invited on a date with Sora, let alone declining his first invitation to a date by a girl. He could never do that to Tai, despite Tai and Sora having never dated. To him, it just wouldn't feel right based on the sheer suspicion that, at some point, the two had liked each other. Perhaps that point was now. Izzy was feeling more and more at ease with the comfort of being able to calculate what the hell was going on between those two.

"Of course he would want to come. Why wouldn't he?" Izzy inquired.

"Well, I think I sort of got off the wrong foot with his girlfriend... I met her last night," she replied sheepishly. "Can you just, maybe, find out he'd be able to go without pissing off his girlfriend? Like, maybe see if it's something that wouldn't cause any conflict between them. He seemed happy with her and I'd hate to come in between them. Plus, we already both know he'll say yes if I ask. He just needs a third party to remind him he's got a girlfriend whose feelings he needs to consider. You know how slow Tai can be sometimes."

They both laughed.

"Sure, Sora," Izzy said softly. "That's considerate of you. Honestly, either way, if I mention it, Tai is going to want to go, no matter the opinion of Catherine."

She sighed. "I figured, which, don't get me wrong, makes me ecstatic, but... you know. I don't want to ruin something he's really happy with."

"They've dated for a few months. He's known you his whole life. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it means that much to you, he'll make it, but I'll talk to him."

Izzy hardly thought this conversation was needed; he believed they both knew Tai was going. Perhaps Sora just really wanted him to convince Tai to consult with his girlfriend first – an action Izzy could already foresee would not end well, and it wasn't like Tai was going to take any dating advice seriously, coming from Izzy, of all people.

"I know. I'm not worried about him not wanting to go. I'm afraid he'll go without realizing it might hurt Catherine's feelings."

"Hm. I think your concerns are quite valid when it comes to Tai's ignorance."

She chuckled in response.

"Ignorant Tai – sounds about right. Thanks, Izzy. Don't tell him about this call, okay? Just be secretive about it, if you can. Like, you know, ask him if he thinks Catherine would mind if he went to a friend's thing. Er, and that friend is me. And you and everyone else are invited too! So it isn't just him and me only."

She seemed as though she were trying to convince herself of what she was saying.

Izzy wasn't sure about the "be secretive" part, but he was willing to follow through with Sora's favor. She was just being a good friend, and he cared for both of them. It was the least he could do since the two seemed to have the most complicated of friendships, and Tai was already off to a rough start to his day.

"I hardly think he needs permission from his girlfriend to go this event of yours, but I'll try."

He smiled to himself. He really, truly did not believe Tai would care at all for Catherine's opinion when it came to this event, but he could be wrong. After all, Tai was still on the phone with her, and it seemed unrealistic for him to be on the phone for this long with someone whose opinion he supposedly would not care about... but, then again, this was _Sora._ Izzy decided to not think too much of it, and to just go along with Sora's request.

"You're the best, Izzy. I'll text you the details when I get them, okay? I just know it's this winter," she said excitedly. He could sense she was grinning. "I really miss you guys."

"We–" Izzy began, when suddenly his door bursted open. Tai was never one to knock. "Miss you too," Izzy finished simultaneously.

The expression on Tai's face shifted in a matter of seconds. At first, he had a flat affect, void of emotion, unclear of what he may be thinking. Then, he grinned widely, almost in a manic manner. Izzy froze.

"Oh, no, was that him?" Sora asked. Leave it to Tai to make entering a room without saying a word _that_ obvious. "Don't tell him! Uh, I'll hang up! I'll text you!"

There was a click, indicating the end of their short and rather perplexing conversation.

"You were talking to a girl!" Tai exclaimed. He walked over to Izzy, who backed away from the approaching Tai by rolling his computer chair backward.

"It was my mother," Izzy said quickly.

"Yeah, right! You never say things like that to your mom! Who is it?! Why didn't you tell me?! Do you need girl advice?! I'm offended I didn't know about this."

Izzy panicked. He was a bad liar – no, he'd go as far as saying he was a _terrible_ liar. Sure, he could have talked to Tai about Sora's request when he could mentally _prepare_ for the conversation, but who the hell barges into someone's room without knocking? Oh, right, Tai, who apparently knew no boundaries.

He mentally scanned the room, as if looking for answers – not that any object in his room would actually help with the situation at hand.

"It was just a classmate," Izzy grumbled, avoiding eye contact and latching himself back onto his laptop, pretending to type away furiously. Doing this often indicated to Tai that Izzy was in do-not-disturb-me-I'm-doing-tech-things mode.

Tai didn't get the hint this time around.

"So now it's a _classmate?_ That you _miss?!"_ Tai said excitedly. He flopped onto the edge of Izzy's bed, resting his elbows on his knees and cupping his face with his hands, as if Izzy was now the most interesting person in the world. Sometimes, it was hard to tell if Tai was the living, carbon copy of a male Mimi, with their love for being nosy and all.

Like many times in the past, Izzy was asking himself why he had chosen to live with Tai, of all people.

"You're being annoying," Izzy said flatly.

"If I'm not being annoying about your dating life, are we _really_ friends?" Tai countered.

Izzy continued to fixate his gaze on his computer screen, typing meaningless, nonsensical words into a random program application he had opened.

"Is it someone I know?"

"No."

"It is!"

"No."

"Is it Mimi? No, it can't be Mimi – she's way out of your league. No offense. She's out of my league, too, don't worry."

"I won't."

"It's obviously not Kari or Yolei; they're taken... Plus you'd need my approval first even if it was Kari... Maybe it _is_ someone I don't know..."

"You're right. You'll never guess," Izzy said nonchalantly. _Good lord, he'll never give up,_ Izzy thought, quickly mentally calculating the possible answers he could give Tai so he could leave him alone.

"So it _is_ someone I know!" Tai smirked. Izzy pursed his lips. Was he really just the bad at lying, or was Tai just messing with him?

"It's nothing, Tai. Nothing as solid as you and Catherine."

Tai scoffed, but made no further comment.

Ah, so that was able to shut him up. However, Izzy was unsure what this meant for Tai's relationship with Catherine. Perhaps they had broken up? If that was any indication, then Tai would be able to go to Sora's show with nothing – or, rather, no one – to worry about.

"Girls are complicated," Tai said simply.

"I take things did not go well with that phone call earlier this morning?"

Tai didn't answer. Izzy peered at him at the corner of his eye, and realized Tai had looked solemn again. Talk about bipolar.

"I don't know," Tai finally replied sheepishly. "That's all I can say. Heh."

"What happened?"

Groaning, Tai, fell backwards onto Izzy's bed, placing his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. "I'll explain later. I'm too mentally exhausted to even be able to process what's happened in the last twenty-four hours."

"Are you happy with her?" Izzy asked suddenly.

It was strange, as the two of them never spoke of either of their love lives ... openly? Tai had never been in a relationship long enough to warrant such a topic, and Izzy had never come close to anything more than a friendly conversation with the opposite sex. The closest thing they had to such a conversation was when Matt and Sora first started dating, which Tai was initially unhappy about. Hell, Izzy, to this day, still wasn't sure if Tai was ever able to accept they had dated.

Izzy hadn't intended to follow through with Sora's favor _today,_ but he sensed he and Tai would never have the opportunity to really discuss how he felt in his current relationship. Might as well get it over with.

"Well... yeah..." Tai stated in pauses.

"You don't sound certain."

"I mean, we haven't been dating long. Maybe _you_ could give me some advice since it seems like you've got a girl you haven't told me about," Tai joked.

"I'm really not dating anyone," Izzy said, rolling his eyes. "Well, if it's any case, I think you'll be fine. You seem to always get yourself out of jams... like you used to with Sora," he added carefully, hoping to ease his way into bringing up Sora's fashion show as casually as possible.

Tai chuckled softly. "Well, Sora's Sora," he said, without further explanation.

"And that's different from Catherine being Catherine?"

"Totally different."

"Good different?"

"...No."

"Oh."

"Izzy, get yourself a girl who'll get ice cream with you in the middle of the night, okay?"

He had no idea what Tai was talking about, but he sensed he wasn't referring to a girlfriend like Catherine. He knew all too well from Tai's many complaints that Catherine hated sweets.

On the other hand, there was only one other girl Tai could have been referring to, if he were referencing anyone at all.

Izzy gulped. He was just going to go for it. After all, if this show meant so much for Sora, and she wanted Tai to go so badly, shouldn't they both have the right to be happy and just _go_? Tai didn't even know what the hell was going on between Catherine and himself anyway – their relationship may not even last until winter. Izzy continued to convince him of these unknown predictions before saying, "I heard Sora's got a big fashion show thing this upcoming winter."

There, he said it.

"A fashion show?" Tai asked curiously, voice a tone higher. "Sora?"

"Yeah. I think we're invited. She called me about it while you were on the phone – wanted to know if we wanted to go–"

"What? Why didn't she just tell me herself?" Tai asked, immediately sitting up. He quickly paced out the door, then returned with his phone in his hand before Izzy could let out another word, fingers already tapping away at his screen. "Is she crazy?"

"Wait, shouldn't you ask Cath–" Izzy began.

"Sora? You're freaking nuts! When is it? What do you mean when's what? Your fashion show! I'm going," Tai said into the phone, ignoring Izzy, though Izzy could't tell if it was intended or not. "I'm not missing out on it!"

With that, Tai turned his heel, casually closing Izzy's door behind him, and Izzy could hear the faint sound of Tai's own bedroom door closing.

 _Well, I tried,_ Izzy thought.

The conversation was easier to have than expected, but only because of Tai's sheer impulsiveness. Izzy sighed. _So much for reminding him to consider Catherine's feelings,_ he thought.

"Sorry, you _are_ freaking nuts. Why wouldn't I go? You should've told me last night!" he heard Tai exclaiming.

If he had to conclude anything from today's disasters, Izzy was glad he wasn't anywhere close to being in a relationship. Izzy slouched downward from his computer chair, relieved that the hard part, for him, was over. For now. Sora won't be happy that Izzy wasn't able to tell Tai to consider Catherine's feelings.

Still, he didn't know what Sora was thinking; it was without a doubt Tai was attending the event no matter what Izzy told him – or tried to.

"It's going to be awesome!" he heard Tai exclaim across the hallway.

Izzy smiled to himself, shaking his head. He felt bad, but it couldn't be helped. He cared for Sora, and he respected her concerns for Tai's relationship, but it was obvious to Izzy that Tai cared more for her than he cared for Catherine, whether he realized it or not. Izzy believed he would be forgiven after Sora's forthcoming, inevitable scolding. Izzy was certainly no Joe, Tai, or Davis – he couldn't help but be himself, and all he hoped was that, that meant he was just being a good friend to both Tai and Sora. That's all he simply wanted to be – a good friend.

Tai's voice was now muffled, and not that he was trying to listen, but he couldn't make out what Tai was saying anymore.

This time, though, he could tell, despite the walls in between them, he could sense Tai was happy – the vibe in the apartment had lifted – and that was all it took to reaffirm that Izzy's failure to keep completely honest to Sora's request was worth it, at least for this moment.

* * *

 **Author's Note: ** Again, so sorry for the lack of update! I hope everyone is well, and I appreciate the time you've taken to get this far! Gosh, I get so nervous every time I publish a chapter for anything, haha! I felt so bad when I finally logged into FFN and read comments of when the next chapter will be up, especially since I said I predicted I'd update before the end of March - oops! Sorry the focus was mostly on Izzy this time around. Those who've read my past stuff will know I love Tai and Izzy's friendship, lol.

I hope you consider leaving a review with your thoughts! Read my profile for updates – I'll try to update it when I get better ideas of when the next chapter will be posted.

Also, off topic, I'm probably a couple months late, but have you guys watched the movie Kimi No Na Wa ("Your Name")? SO GOOD! I'm obsessed with it, to say the least. Please watch it if you haven't, lol.

Take care!


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